The ‘Why, What and How’ of Inclusion from the Practitioner's Point of View: Inclusion of Immigrant Children in the Norwegian Educational System

Abstract

The aim of the article is to explore teachers' perceptions of the concept of multicultural inclusion. The study adopts a qualitative approach where 14 individual semi-structured interviews have been used to assess and analyse teachers' reflections when considering the ‘why, what and how’ questions surrounding inclusion. The overall findings indicate that teachers view multicultural inclusion as a desirable and positive process which should be practised in contemporary schools. However, the findings also indicate that teachers use rather common and imprecise terms and generally hold that this process is straightforward and unproblematic in terms of its definition. This is further supported in reported tendencies to implement inclusive measures in a fairly unorganized and intuitive manner. The challenges associated with definitions and practices of inclusion are discussed along with the positions of teachers in terms of power. The article concludes with outlining the possible limitations and implications of the study.